In February, as part of the "fight against corruption", 153 people were arrested and charged with a total of slightly more than twenty million euros. In progressive Serbia, these can only be small fish
The fight against corruption, announced as a great cleansing of Serbia, actually deals with petty corruption, the math shows.
During February they the former leadership of the city of Nis was arrested, Electric Power Industry of Serbia, official of the Secretariat for legalization in Belgrade, several businessmen and police officers.
But it can hardly be called the tip of the iceberg.
"All the cases from February within the framework of this latest fight against corruption: the total illegal property gain is 21,6 million euros," calculates Zlatko Minic from the Transparency Serbia organization.
As announced by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 153 people were arrested in 23 cases. The damage is about 3,5 billion dinars, and the benefits are about 2,5 billion dinars - that is, slightly more than twenty million euros.
Minic asked on Twitter where the bigger cases were: "The cost of renovating the Railway Station in Novi Sad increased by 12,5 million euros from the contracted amount to the one announced by Vučić and Vesić." Not to mention other much bigger projects."
Weak faith in the fight against corruption
Criminal law professor Vanja Bajović says that, taught by past experiences, "the determined 'fight against corruption' and the series of arrests in recent days look more like a marketing trick designed to appease an inflamed and rather angry public."
"Let's just remember earlier cases - how many times have we watched spectacular arrests with cameras, with dramatic headlines, only for those same cases to end in silence, statute of limitations or acquittals," Bajović told Al Jazeera.
In translation, arrests are one thing - but it remains to be seen how many of those arrested will be convicted and how much of the allegedly embezzled money will be recovered by the state.
By the way, even the readers of our newsletter Medjuvreme do not believe in the fight against corruption.
Recently, 60 percent of readers said they don't believe until they see the big fish in the net. 10 percent of them say that it is good for at least some to fall, and 29 percent say that they are only interested in the government leaving. Only one percent believes in the fight against corruption.
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